In a move that couldn’t be more in spirit with today, Angels and Airwaves are giving away their new album, Love, for free on the interwebs. Although this move may be somewhat unprecedented as far as bigger bands go, don’t expect to be surprised by Delonge and co.’s latest work. That cosmic, toy-box sound is anything but gone. But don’t let that discourage you from checking it out. The band has gone far in perfecting what many have deemed a Blink rip-off of U2’s sound, instead molding it into something of their own. All of the music’s elements are in sync this time around; no riff seems to be misplaced or forced as it may have been in the past. What’s more, there are some moments where the guitar, drum, and synth work really stands out from what at times has been a muddled sea of delay and reverb effects.
My biggest complaint is that there are no obvious singles as there were on We Don’t Need to Whisper and I-Empire. The album works best if listened to in its entirety, but sometimes I like to have an obvious favorite or two I can skip to. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the way the band has evolved. I don’t really think about Delonge’s a-bit-over-the-top showmanship or the Blink legacy anymore when I put on any of AVA’s albums. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of work still left to be done, but Love is another step in the right direction.
MP3: Angels and Airwaves – “The Flight of Apollo”
Download the rest of AVA’s Love HERE.
Love,
Adrian
All Things Go 
[…] I spoke too soon when I said that there weren’t any single-worthy songs on Angels and Airwaves’ Love. It took the music video for “Hallucinations” to show me that. It’s nothing more than a collection of performance shots and clips of the guys standing around, but the production gives it a alluring, cinematic quality that keeps you watching. I hope that this spells good things for the film the band plans to release later this year to accompany the album. The song itself is filled with the atmospheric build-ups and catchy rock chorus you’ll find in much of AVA’s work, although Atom Willard’s drumwork during the outro gives “Hallucinations” a nice unexpected flair. I have the feeling I’ll keep finding more reasons to like this album. […]